Apps

Just in time for Halloween, I was able to try the Outdoor Switch ($79.95) from iDevices. It's about two to three times the price of traditional indoor smart power switches; but this works outside, which is certainly important for holiday lights and other appliances. You can use the free iDevices app (with Apple Watch extension) to control your switch, as well as the iDevices indoor switch, but for best effect, set up the devices within HomeKit or Amazon Alexa (or both) and use your voice to control your outdoor lights. Of course you can also use scheduling to turn them on or off. You could get creative and use motion sensors to turn on devices, perhaps to scare or entertain trick or treaters!

It has been four years since I last reviewed Textastic, one of the best text editors on the iOS platform.  In that time, the application had been incrementally improving with free updates to Textastic users. The release of Textastic 6 ($9.99) includes so many new features that the application's author justifiably opted to deem it as a new product. Is Textastic 6 worth the price for both new and existing users alike? Read on to find out.

It's no surprise that Atypical, the same folks that bring the amazing experience of Sky Gamblers—arguably amongst the best mobile air combat simulators ever— have now come out with the rolling thunder of a pulse-pounding tank combat sim to iOS. Infinite Tanks ($4.99) is as masterfully rendered and well designed as the lovingly cultivated Sky Gamblers games.

Twitter is in the news lately, for a variety of reasons. First, it live streamed the Buffalo Bills' game (loss... sadly) in a deal with the NFL. Second, as with any live event, there was a lot of activity around #DebateNight. And third, it isn't doing so well, financially, and appears to be entertaining a buyout. A number of reported suitors have emerged, including Google, Microsoft, Verizon, Disney, and even Apple. All of those firms certainly have enough cash on hand to make such a deal.

Clearly everything from my childhood is coming back. First Pokemon GO made its gigantic debut and has slashed every record for app downloads and app sales. CEO of Niantic Labs, the developers behind the app, announced that Pokemon GO will be coming to Apple Watch soon at Apple’s keynote event yesterday. But before that, a representative for Nintendo came out to talk about its new game: Super Mario Run. While I was obsessed with Pokemon GO in the beginning, the buzz wore off as my daily life became too busy to spend the amount of time my seven year old self wants to when catching them all. But I don’t have to go running around to play Super Mario Run. The question is will that be to Nintendo's advantage or was Pokemon GO such a hit due in part to the fact that you do physically have to move. Only time will tell; however, Super Mario Run certainly has that same nostalgic potential that could have generations of adults reliving simpler times.

Many families share iOS devices such as the iPad. Not only do the adults in the household use the device but the children do as well. The internet is a vast and unpredictable place—if you want to make sure kids don’t end up on adult websites, you can set Restrictions within the Settings on iPad or iPhone. Here’s how to restrict access to adult websites on iPhone or iPad.

Recently, I wrote about the difficulty in using a 16 GB iPhone and how Apple should really consider making a larger capacity model be the entry-level configuration. Perhaps I would have been okay with 16 GB if I had iMyFone Umate iPhone Cleaner ($19.95).